2023-07-25 16:33:51
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Chen Gang is one of the most long-absent high-ranking officials of the Chinese Communist Party
Article informationAuthor, Stephen McDonnell, Simon Fraser and Kelly Ng Role, BBC News
2 hours ago
China dismissed Chen Gang as foreign minister less than seven months after he was appointed to the post.
Chen was seen as a confidant of President Xi Jinping. The role will now be assumed by Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee.
Chen’s prolonged disappearance from public view, and official silence regarding this disappearance, has fueled upset speculation.
The last known public activities of the 57-year-old man were on June 25, while the reason for his dismissal was not announced.
The Chinese leader had appointed him to his post in December 2022.
More than a month ago, Qin Gang met US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Beijing, as the two sides sought to restore diplomatic contacts at the highest level.
While Gang’s dismissal ends weeks of confusion, it also leaves many questions unanswered.
“China’s top legislative body has voted to appoint Wang Yi as foreign minister,” the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
“Chen Gang has been removed from the post of foreign minister,” it added.
The report said President Xi signed the decree authorizing the move.
Under the Chinese Communist Party system, the country’s foreign policy is formulated by a high-ranking official, and then directed by the foreign minister to implement it.
Wang Yi returns to the position he held between 2018 and 2022. He is currently in South Africa to attend a meeting of the BRICS national security.
Chen Gang was one of the most famous faces of the Chinese government. His prolonged absence has drawn scrutiny not only from diplomats and Chinese affairs observers, but also from Chinese citizens.
And when, a month ago, he no longer carried out his normal duties and did not attend a summit in Indonesia, the official explanation was limited to unspecified health problems.
The lack of information from his ministry led to speculation that he was being punished either for political reasons, or because of an extramarital affair.
Then China postponed his meeting with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell that was initially scheduled for July 4 without explanation, adding to the rumours.
Asked about his whereabouts last week, a spokeswoman for the ministry said she had no information. This sheds light on the secrecy of China and the ambiguity of its system of government.
Chen is one of the long-absent senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party.
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Chen attended a series of events in June, including a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
But it is not uncommon for prominent figures in China to disappear from view for long periods of time, only to later appear to be the subject of a criminal investigation, or to reappear without explanation.
Xi Jinping himself disappeared for two weeks shortly before he became China’s leader in 2012, prompting speculation about his health and potential power struggles within the party.
Chen Gang’s rise to foreign minister was dramatic. He is one of the youngest appointees to this position in Chinese history.
After less than two years as ambassador to the United States, where he had a reputation as a tough diplomat, he was appointed foreign minister last December.
Prior to that, he was a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry and helped organize Xi Jinping’s trips abroad, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with the Chinese leader.
And there was a lot of interest in China about what happened to Chen Gang. The country’s largest search engine, Baidu, has seen a huge increase in searches for its name recently.
Observers say it is unusual to discuss rumors about a prominent official on the Chinese Internet without full censorship measures.
“The lack of censorship makes people question whether the rumors about power struggles, corruption, abuse of power, positions and relationships are real,” Ian Chung of the National University of Singapore told the BBC last week.
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